The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wjk
Date: 2003-06-19 00:15
Yup...I played the blues with the guitar guys...and yes....I survived!
1. Gee, those pentatonic scales sure come in handy.
2. My Buffet was perfect for the task...and all that time I thought I needed that pricey Pete Fountain.
3. Them geetar boys can get purty loud, but I "got into it" and held my own.
4. I really "felt the blues." I wasn't consciously thinking----"Hmm, that's a flatted seventh, etc." I let my subconscious take over--and boy, what a blast!
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Author: dfh
Date: 2003-06-19 04:27
Way to go!!!! Wish I could've heard you! I really want to do that someday....
dfh
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-06-19 10:21
It only gets better from here. Keep exploring and it'll never get boring...
Allen Cole
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2003-06-19 13:30
We're proud of you! Getting into the feeling and the groove is at least 90% of the effort.
It would probably be helpful to spend time listening to Duke Ellington recordings that feature his clarinet players.
By the way, could you describe the pentatonic scales you were using? I must have missed that on the other thread.
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-06-19 22:09
wjk - I'm jealous ... well done, mate (pardon my aussie slang).
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Author: Guido
Date: 2003-06-21 01:11
I'm with you, the blues are a hoot! Oh give me a home where the twelve bars do roam...
I just let it flow, never worrying that I remain entirely true to scale, playing by ear, wandering but respectful. Not all who wander are lost...'long as we return home from time to time.
I think the guitar-clarinet combo is sweet and welcomed by audiences.
May the force be with you.
Guido
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-06-21 01:38
wjk, now you have been to the right place. Listening is great, but nothing can beat *playing*. And once you can play with feeling, not thinking, you are really in the finest place of all.
Guitar and Clarinet do make a great duo, but it sure is interesting when the guitarist says he prefers a selection in E. Suggestion: carry a capo. Lend it out as necessary. Playing in F# can be invigorating, but I'd rather do it in G. Wouldn't you?
Regards and congrats,
John
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Author: Guido
Date: 2003-06-21 20:51
John notes the "darkside" of playing with guitars; we live in two to seven sharps constantly.
That said, they're interesting scales and not the stuff of most players' relish.
And that's what makes the whole experience special!
G
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Author: wjk
Date: 2003-06-22 00:13
I actually play guitar as well....most guitar magazines are full of pentatonic scale exercises that can easily be applied to the clarinet. (Check out Guitar Player and Guitar One). On the guitar, pentatonic scales fall into neat patterns that can be endlessly varied all over the fretboard. The clarinet, however......
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2003-06-23 04:35
Congrats!
When you come to D.C. plan on dropping by Archies Barbershop in N.E. on a Saturday afternoon. ACOUSTIC BLUES!
I should know this, but what concert key is seven sharps for the Bb clarinet? I know that at some point there are so many sharps that it seems like I get reduced to a four or five note scale and can't figure out anything interesting to play.
It is funny how much the brain goes on auto pilot. In a lot of keys, I can happily play using my Bb clarinet, then quickly swap for the A clarinet, and after a few notes, go right back to auto pilot with no thought whatsoever to what key I am in or what has changed. Obviously I have good relative pitch, but I am pretty sure that I don't have good absolute pitch. I don't know if someone is sharp or flat until I play along, and then often it takes me a while to figure out whether I am sharp or flat, relative to them. .
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-06-23 04:48
Jim, concert B is 7 sharps for clarinet.
In that key, I'm generally hanging close to pentatonic and blues scales, too. If you think they're getting stale, try listening to some old Lester Young recordings. He will loosen you back up.
I might have to check out Archie's barbershop sometime. You live in DC? I'm in Richmond.
Allen Cole
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-06-23 04:51
What amazes me, wjk, is how many books of pentatonic guitar licks you can buy in any given music store--for players who can barely make out written music. I had a clarinet student who learned some fabulous pentatonic work from his uncle, who was a rock guitar player. Unfortunately, the kid was too scared to venture outside of concert B-flat...
Allen Cole
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